The piece is based on the painting “No Ordinary Love”, which can be found in the d’Errico art book Femina and Fauna, also produced by Dark Horse. Camilla’s work reminds me of a blend between Margaret Keene’s iconic 60’s doe-eyed waifs and 70’s TV Anime. As the book title suggests she often juxtaposes ethereal young ladies with some unexpected wildlife eliciting a placid, though equally disquieting, beauty. If I simply described this fantasy portrait you might imagine a tentacle enrobed, raven caressing, bride of Cthulu. Thankfully my photos reflect something quite the opposite and answer the question “Can you fall in love with a girly wearing a calamari as a chapeau?” with a rousing affirmative.

Dark Horse Product Development Manager Chris Gaslin told me that the sculpt was done by Gentle Giant Studios with d’Errico supervising the prototyping. They’ve created a masterful work imbued with the detail and delicacy of the original painting. The 8 inch tall, 5 inch wide, statue will be produced in a limited edition of 950 copies for worldwide distribution. Each will be hand-numbered and collector boxed, with a certificate of authenticity. Expected release date is June 2012. Dark Horse also plans Helmetgirls a second helping of Camilla’s paintings for July publication.